Las Cruces, N.M. reversed an ordinance that Adventist legal counsel said violated religious expression and the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The 1997 ordinance defined a business as “any profession, trade or occupation and all and every kind of calling,” including the work of pastors, priests, rabbis, bishops, imams and other religious leaders. It required a registration fee and passing a discretionary review process before a pastor-led church could gain approval to conduct worship services or provide pastoral care. MORE

A $1 million initiative that will partner with ministries to create new resources for evangelism and church growth has been approved by the Pacific Press® Board of Directors. Through the "A Million Streams of Light" initiative, Pacific Press® will offer seed money to help church departmental ministries, supportive ministries, and local church ministries create and develop new evangelistic products and programs. MORE

Black vegetarian Seventh-day Adventists are at lower risk for heart disease compared with their meat-eating counterparts, according to results of a new Loma Linda University Health study. The study, available online in the journal Public Health Nutrition, compared the cardiovascular risk factors between black vegetarians and non-vegetarians who are part of the ongoing Adventist Health Study-2. MORE

Memorial services held for Dr. Teleka Patrick – Dr. Patrick was missing under mysterious circumstances for four months. Her body was finally found in a northern Indiana lake. Cause of death was ruled asphyxiation by drowning.
New York memorial service: 7 p.m., Apr 24, will be live streamed on Praizevision.com and LindenSDAChurch.org.
Loma Linda University (LLU), where she was a 2013 School of Medicine alumnus, will hold a memorial service on Apr. 28, at 6:30 p.m. in the Loma Linda University Church. MORE
Oakwood University held a memorial service for her on Apr. 17, during their worship service, and issued this statement.
Many were praying for her well being while she was missing. Please continue to remember her family and loved ones in your prayers.

Adventist Christian Fellowship Institute (ACF), May 16-25, is a short term mission training to prepare students, young adults and church leaders in establishing Adventist campus ministries for Christ on public college and university campuses. This year it will take place at Union College in Lincoln, Neb. Registration closes April 30. MORE/REGISTER

Join the Columbia Union's (CUC) team of experts including the NAD Health Ministries Director Katia Reinert, and CUC’s Health Ministries Director A. Leah Scott, when they discuss symptoms of mental illness and practical ways to help those suffering. Follow #VisitorChat on Twitter, Apr. 29 at noon (EDT). Facebook; MORE

Atlantic Union College is seeking candidates for the position of president.The detailed posting is available on the college Web site www.auc.edu. Send nominations and resumes to the e-mail address of the administrative secretary for Dr. Donald King, chairman of the Search Committee, at pwillmott@atlanticunion.org.

Watch and give a "thumbs up" to Hope Channel's “Hopey to the Rescue” video. It is an entry in the Telly People’s Choice Award. Vote here by May 9.

ACS "A Haven for the Homeless" – May 3 will be Community Services Sabbath. Here is a video you can show to illustrate one aspect of the Adventist Community Services work taking place in Coatesville, Pa. There, an Adventist community center is providing a safe haven and a chance at a new life for those who have nowhere else to go. Over 30 years ago, the Coatesville First SDA Church (of the Allegheny East Conference) opened their doors to the homeless in their community, turning the Sabbath school rooms into a shelter every week from Sunday to Friday morning. MORE

Download a bulletin insert to share with your local church, reminding members to join the NAD Prayer Ministry team for the May 1-2 all-night Prayer Call. Join at any time between 10 p.m. Thursday, May 1, and 5 a.m. ET, Friday. Call 712-432-0031; access code is 435650#. There will be a different leader for each half hour. MORE

CALLED — A Visit to Philadelphia

Joshua and Sara Withers read about how Tara VinCross was able to plant a new church in Philadelphia while continuing to pastor the traditional Chestnut Hill Seventh-day Adventist church a few miles away. Travel with them as they check out the Philadelphia community, interview Tara, and observe Tara's relationship with both of her churches. Josh is particularly fascinated with how the new church plant focuses much of their weekly Sabbath activities on community outreach. Sara is intrigued by some of the unique challenges of female leadership.

REACH: Community Outreach and EvangelismSimplicity Mission 2014

A box of unexpected bread brought unexpected results at the Simplicity Outreach Center in Allentown, Pa. The team decided to set up a table outside on the sidewalk that evening and offer the bread to people as they walked home. This led to meeting a Muslim woman who was going through some troubled times and had just left an unsuccessful job interview with a very rude manager. MORE